The present invention relates to a freestanding monolithic wall panel for use in constructing a building and a truss structure for use in constructing the freestanding monolithic wall panel and includes a method of constructing a building utilizing the freestanding monolithic wall panel.
It is important that new and better methods of constructing buildings be found because of the increased cost of building materials and labor to use those materials in constructing a building. One of the prior art improvements in the construction of buildings has been the formation of modular wall panel units that can be prefabricated and put in place much like pieces of a puzzle in order to construct the building. These prefabricated modular wall panels have been constructed of wood, concrete, foamed material, plastics, and the like. Each of these particular materials have their own inherent problems associated with them. For instance, concrete is extremely heavy. However, the foam is so light that it doesn't have sufficient rigidity to withstand vertical loads and horizontal stresses applied thereto. If the foam panels are reinforced with steel, the time required to weld the reinforcement rods in the required form is time consuming and expensive. Still others connect a plurality of steel rods welded together longitudinally, diagonally, and transversely thus requiring several welds at one location which weakens the steel and is time consuming in construction.
Further, the use of such modular construction requires that the inside of the panel be used as an inside wall and thus requires either plastering or wall board to be attached thereto in some manner as well as making provision for space on the walls for wiring, plumbing, and duct work. In some cases, even the outer wall must be prepared to a finish state by using gunite or stucco for a finished appearance.
In all of these various systems, it is difficult to achieve a wall panel which is not only load bearing both horizontally and vertically but which will also provide a finished outer wall and make provisions for providing a finish wall on the inner surface thereof and do it in an economical manner in a reasonable time.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing, first, a truss structure which is formed of a wire member and is so constructed that the welding thereof does not create weak points, which has sufficient structural strength to give a panel load bearing capabilities in both the vertical and horizontal directions and which is so constructed as to provide means on the inside panel surface to which a wall board can be attached and yet which has room under the truss structure to provide duct work, plumbing and electrical wiring.
Further, the truss structures may be utilized in a modular panel which can be constructed either at or away from the building site and which modular panel includes a layer of polyurethane foam for insulation purposes over the concrete and with the truss structure partially embedded in both the concrete and the overlying polyurethane layer so that that portion which protrudes can be used on which to mount wall board to form an inner wall.
Finally, these modular panel units may be erected vertically on a concrete pad below the surface level of the foundation of the structure to be built so that when the foundation of the structure is poured, the concrete and steel wire members in the foundation may interconnect with that portion of the truss not embedded in the concrete and polyurethane thus forming a wall of unitary construction with the foundation and which has the polyurethane extending below the level of the foundation to the concrete pad on which the wall is sitting thus providing a moistureproof insulation barrier which extends below the level of the foundation. The resulting wall combines speed of construction, permanence, insulation, ease of installation of utility service, and high quality finishes yet is moisture proof, pest proof, and fungus resistant and has the lowest weight to strength ratio of any known wall, thus providing protection from tornados or other storm damage.